2017 NBA Championship Futures

The NBA season is finally here so it’s time to take one last look at the odds for the 2017 NBA Championship before the season gets going and things change.

The story of this season, like the story of last season, is the Warriors and Cavaliers being on a collision course for the NBA Finals. If this match-up actually ends up happening it would be the first time that two teams have met in the Finals for three straight years in NBA history. That is a pretty crazy stat, so crazy that you think it’s not going to happen, but then you look at some of the other teams out there and you’re left wondering. Who can beat Cleveland? Who can beat Golden State? Outside of an injury it definitely seems like we are going to get the third part in this trilogy.

The Golden State Warriors are at-125 and they are the favorites this season after adding Kevin Durant to the squad. They are definitely one of the scarier teams when you look at the top four options, but the rest seems like a big question mark. They have no center, their bench is weaker than last year and the defense might not be as good as it was a year ago. Of course, they could stand to take a step back from last year’s 73 win team and still be the best team in the league. There is also the question of who is the alpha dog or if that sort of thing will end up being a problem for them. Draymond Green is always an issue as well, but there are question marks here and then there is the fact that nobody can match this team in talent.

With the possible exception of the Cleveland Cavaliers +300. A lot of people don’t realize that Kevin Love wasn’t in great shape last season and that definitely changed the way he played the game. He got a full offseason of working out this year and should be improved. They’ll also get a full season of Kyrie Irving and somehow this team might be better than it was a year ago. Lebron James is still Lebron James and as long as he is, you can probably expect his team in the Finals.

The San Antonio Spurs at +900, Boston Celtics at +1800 and Los Angeles Clippers at +2500 are the only other teams that you might consider having a chance this season and even then if it’s something goes seriously wrong with one of these other two teams.